Core barrel mounting



Patented Sept. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CORE BARREL MOUNTING Application February 4, 1936, Serial No. 62,266

' 9 Claims. (01. 255-72) The invention relates to an improvement in core drill and core barrel assemblies, and particularly in the mounting of the core barrel so that it may be suspended in the core drill and be capable of absorbing shocks and lateral stresses.

In the operation of core drilling with the core barrel known as the standard type of core barrel wherein the core barrel is mounted in the core drill it is necessary that a rotatable connection be provided between the core barrel and the drill stem or top of the core drill so that the. core barrel may remain stationary to receive the core while the core drill is rotated. In the past antifriction bearings have been provided in this mounting to permit'the relative movement of the corev barrel and core drill, but it has been found that considerable lateral stress and misalignment of the parts resulted from a rigid rotatable connection and the present invention directs itself to the provision of a yieldable or resilient mounting for the core barrel so that the core barrel may absorb shocks and lateral stresses and vibrations without affecting the bearing support. This results in a much more satisfactory operation of the core barrel because it is permitted to align itself with the core which is being received and avoid the transmission of undue stresses to the bearing structure.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a yieldable core barrel mounting for standard types of core barrels.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spindle mounting for core barrels having a yieldable connection with the core barrel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spindle mounting for core barrels having a yieldable connection with the core drill. 1

Another object of the invention is to provide a yieldable mounting for core barrels through which a fluid passage is provided.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a rotatable yieldable connection for core barrel constructions.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly broken away of a standard core barrel construction to which the invention has been applied.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the core barrel mounting, taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the resilient connecting members.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the lower end of the spindle mounting,

- Fig. 1 shows a type of core barrel and core drill assembly wherein the core barrel and core drill will be lowered into and removed from the well as a unit; This assembly includes the core drill 2 which is threaded to the lower end of a drill collar 3 which is in turn connected to a drill sub 4 and the tool joint 5, all of which parts are carried by the drill stem 6. These parts are assembled in this position as they are lowered into the well bore.

The core barrel is indicated generally at I and is shown as being disposed in the drill which term may be used to designate the assembly of the drill collar, sub, and tool joint. The core barrel is of the type which is disposed in the drill and is capable of remaining stationaryor rotating at a diflerent rate of speed than the drill bit in order that the core may be encouraged to enter the core barrel. The core barrel includes the barrel proper 8 whose lower end is reduced at 9 to be received in a seat Ill in the drill 2, so that the passage ll therethrough is in substantial alignment with the passage l2 in the drill. In this manner the core l3 may enter these passages and move upwardly into the core barrel 1. All of the parts just described are best seen in Fig. 1. 4

The invention particularly relates to the manner of mounting the core barrel in the drill assembly and Fig. 2 shows a detail section of this construction wherein the drill sub 4 is provided with a downwardly extending sleeve l which is recessed to form a socket l6. This sleeve projects below the end of the sub 4 and into the drill collar 3 in order to receive the bore barrel. A plurality of passages I! are provided through this sub 4 and are arranged to connect with the passage IS in the drill collar. In this manner liquid may be pumped downwardly through the drill stem and drill assembly to discharge from the ports IS in the bit in order to wash away the cuttings from the drill. This fluid passes downwardly through the drill collar around the outside of the core barrel. p

In assembling a core barrel of this type it should be borne in mind that the core barrel 1 may be 20 or 30 feet in length where it is desired to obtain a considerable length of core before removing the drill from the well so that there may be considerable misalignment of the parts and this is particularly true where the core barrel is adapted to remain stationary while the drill rotates at a relatively high rate of speed. It has been found desirable therefore to arrange a resilient mounting for the top of the core barrel so that lateral stresses in the parts may be absorbed and so that the core barrel may have some tilt- 5 ing movement relative to the remaining parts of the drill and so that vibration may-be absorbed. With this in mind, the sleeve I5 is arranged to receive a spindle or support member 20. This spindle is of a length to extend into the socket I6 10 and below the lowerend of the sleeve l5. In this manner the spindle is passed into the socket I6 and provided with a resilient ring 2| in order to form a seal about the upper end of thevspindle where it extends into the recess 22 in the drill sub 5 4. The spindle is provided with a shoulder 23' upon which a plurality of anti-friction bearings 24 may be mounted. These bearings are locked in position by a ring 25 which is threaded on the spindle and carries a packing 26 in order to form 20 a seal about the threads.

The packing ring 2| seals the upper end of the socket l6 so that grit and abrasives cannot enter this area which contains the bearings 24. These bearings 24 are arranged to engage against the 5 downwardly facing shoulder 28 in the sleeve l5 and will be locked in this position by the gland 29. This gland is in turn held in fixed position by a locking ring 30 which is threaded therein. A packing 3| may be carried by this gland in order 30 to form a seal about the outside of the spindle to prevent the entrance of liquid or abrasives from below. When the parts are assembled in this position it seems obvious that the spindle 20 will be capable of relative rotation with respect to the sleeve l5 and the drill assembly and the bearings 24 will be sealed against abrasives, so that they will operate satisfactorily for long period.

The lower end of the spindle or support 20 projects below the gland 29 and has arranged thereon an outstanding flange 35. This flange is arranged to receive directly above it a resilient ring 36 and a similar resilient ring 31 is positioned just below the flange. These rings will be snapped into grooves 38-which are formed in the spindle in order to provide a seat for the resilient rings.

When the spindle is thus arranged it will be passed into the core barrel head 40 which is provided with a recess 4| to receive the lower end of the spindle. A retainer gland 43 is then screwed in on top of the upper resilient ring 36 so that the core barrel is in this manner connected to the lower end of the spindle.

It will be noted that the periphery of the 55 flange 35 is slightly rounded and fits rather snugly in the gland 43 so that each of the members 35 and35 will be confined. It is not intended that the rubber may flow by this flange 35. Thus when the core barrel tilts the flange 35 30 will move down on one side and up on the other so that there will be a circumferential flowing. of the rubber in each ring. In this manner there can be little or no vertical movement of the core barrel which might interfere with its operation 65 even though flexing of the barrel may occur.

The resilient members 36 and 3'! permit a tilting-movement of the core barrel relative to the stem 20, so that the stress before mentioned may be absorbed, and there may be some lateral move- 70 ment of the core barrel to align itself with the drill assembly.

The spindle 20 is hollow to provide a passage 45 which connects with,a check valve cage 46 at its 1 lower end. A check valve protecting sleeve is 75- shown at 41 as being carried by the head 40 of the core barrel. This protector 41 is provided with a plurality of inlet ports 48 which serve to prevent the entrance of any large particles into the check valve cage.

The passage 45 leads into a passage 22 in the 5 sub 4, and these passages are arranged to form an outlet for the fluid from the core barrel as the core enters because of the discharge port 50 which is formed in the side of the sub 4. A plug 5| serves to close the passage 22 against the inlet 1 of drilling fluid from the drill stem. Itis well known that the pressure on the outside of the drill in the well bore is less than the pressure inside of the drill stem so that there will be a tendency to relieve the pressure in the top of the 15 core barrel as the core is entered, as the liquid from the core barrel may discharge through this outlet 50.

Broadly the invention contemplates the provision of resilient mounting for the core barrel 20 so that it may align itself with the various parts of the drill'assembly.

What is claimed is:

1. A core drill and core barrel assembly including a drill stem, a core drill thereon, a core 25 barrel disposed in said drill and carried by said stem, a connection between said stem and core barrel said connection including a sleeve in said drill stem, a spindle in said sleeve, an anti-friction bearing between said spindle and sleeve, whereby an the drill stem and the sleeve may rotate relative to each other, and a shock and stress absorbing connection between said spindle and the core barrel whereby there may be slight relative lateral movement of the core barrel with respect to 5 the drill.

2. A core drill and core barrel assembly including a drill stem. a core drill thereon, a core barrel disposed in saiddrill and carried by said stem, a connection between said stem and core barrel said 0 connection including a sleeve in said drill stem,

a spindle in said sleeve, an anti-friction bearing between said spindle and sleeve, whereby the drill stem and the sleeve may rotate relative to each other, and a shock and stress absorbing con- 4| nection between said spindle'and the core barrel whereby that there may be slight relative lateral movement of the core barrel with respect to the drill, said last connection including a flange on said spindle adapted to enter a .recess in the core 60 barrel head, and a resilient packing in said recess on the opposite sides of said flange.

3. A mounting for standard core barrels wherein the drill is adapted for rotation independently of the core barrel including a drill sub, a socket therein, a core barrel supporting member disposed in said socket, bearings supporting said member for rotation, a core barrel, and yieldable means to connect said member and core barrel so that the core barrel may tilt relative to said member.

4. In a core barrel mounting, a core barrel head, a recess therein, a spindle having a flange mounted in said recess, resilient means disposed about said flange, and a retainer member for said means and flange whereby the core barrel may have tilting movement" relative to said spindle. v 1

5. In a core barrel mounting, a core barrel head, a recess therein, a spindle having a flange mounted in said recess, resilient means disposed about said flange, a retainer member for said means and flange whereby the core barrel may have tilting movement relative to said spindle,

and additional means to mount said spindle for rotation.

6. In a core barrel mounting, a core barrel head, a recess therein, a spindle having a flange mounted in said recess, a resilient packing disposed on opposite sides of said flange, a retainer member for said means and flange whereby the core barrel may have tilting movement relative to said spindle, and additional means to mount said spindle for rotation, said spindle being hollow for the discharge of fluid from the core barrel.

7. A core drill and core barrel assembly including a core drill, a core barrel disposed therein, a drill collar above said drill and around said barrel, a drill sub above said collar, a sleeve on said sub projecting into said collar, a spindle rotatably mounted in said sleeve, and means for resiliently connecting the top of said core barrel and said spindle whereby the core barrel may align itself with said drill, collar and sub.

8. In a core barrel mounting, a core barrel head having a recess therein, a spindle having a flange within said recess, the surface of said flange being rounded to maintain a snug fit between said head and said recess when slight movement therebe- -tween takes place, resilient packing means on combination, a drill sub having a socket therein, a. spindle rotatably mounted in said socket and extending therefrom, said spindle having a flange on said extending portion and grooves on opposite sides of said flange, resilient rings snapped into said grooves, a core barrel head having a recess surrounding said flange and rings, and means for securing said flange and rings in said recess whereby a resilient connection is provided between the core barrel and said spindle.

WILLIAM E. BURKE.

MADDEN '1 WORKS. 

